Report from the Humberside Federation of Women’s Institutes’ Annual Federation Day 10th April 2013 The House, ScunthorpeThe day began at 10.30am with Jerusalem, followed by a warm welcome from the Federation chair, Lesley Jacklin. There was also a welcome from the mayor of Scunthorpe, who had obviously done his homework regarding the recent growth of the WI as an organisation. This was followed by the business part of the meeting, comprising minutes from the last meeting, the usual reports from treasurer, secretary, chairman and other officers. Points to note were as follows

The rising costs of producing the newsletter mean that the email version is here to stay.

· The Christmas Fair (in Kirton in Lindsey) was such a success that it will be repeated on 16th

November 2013.

New examiners are needed for the Independent Financial Information Scheme. (Training will be given) .

Life is full of surprises!

· Suggestions for a new Federation name are requested – maybe to rename in the centenary year 2015.

Suggestions are also sought for ways to celebrate the centenary within the Federation. Our branch’s

thoughts please!

Don’t underestimate ‘Girl Power’.

· A visit to a chocolate museum is being planned!

· The ‘Going for Gold’ competition was an excellent effort.

· Craft workshops planned include 2 on patchwork, a repeat of the rag rugs day and our very own Carol

Hird’s button brooches.

· 4 WIs will be 95 this year; 3 new WIs were started up in 2012; Waltham, after being in existence for 10

months, is now the largest in the Federation with 75 members.

Suggested Cluster groups for WIs are listed. WIs are asked to offer their thoughts/suggestions by the

end of July

· 8 huge carrier bags of bras were gratefully accepted by Oxfam. The International Women’s Day walk

was a great success.

· Visits to RAF Scampton and Owsworth Farm were great days out. More of the same (or similar) is

promised for the future.

A Great Food Day is planned for October.

· An appeal is made for suggestions for other speakers/events for the future.

‘Pennies for Friendship’ collects money throughout the year and a big donation is made to ACWW. If WIs

want more information a DVD is available and a rep will come to give a talk.

An appeal is made for jams, chutneys and pickles to sell at the Christmas Fair.

· Visitor numbers at Denman are still decreasing while the costs are rising. Only 3% of members have

· ever been to Denman. Due to a generous donation, there is to be a craft/fabric/haberdashery shop in Denman. If people share a car (3 or more in one car), £25 is given to them by Denman

IT training workshops will be given throughout the summer by Sue Bolton, our ‘digital champion.

There will be laptops available at WI house (eventually!)

At 11.40am Ruth Bond, the National Chairman, took the floor. She spoke for 50 minutes on a variety of topics including her love of shoes, her passion for the work of the WI in the ‘Care not Custody’ campaign for prisons and her meetings with royalty and politicians. Prince Charles apparently believes that ‘ if the WI is involved, it can’t help but be a success’. Other points from her talk were:

· A new meeting was to start in Cambridge. A message was put out on Facebook and 140 members

signed up at the first meeting. An overflow meeting of 52 members had to be formed

· A member had posted on Facebook ‘only 2 more sleeps to WI – can’t wait!’

· Ruth and David Cameron were at a Dementia awareness training event. The question was posed

‘how do you make a cup of tea?’ How do you explain it to someone with dementia?

· Prince Charles is involved in food producing in schools as part of the ‘grow it, eat it’ project.

· If you want a job done, come to the WI. We are the guardians of craft and cookery talents.

After a vote of thanks, we enjoyed a break for lunch, some enjoying the glorious sunshine (a rare sight so far this year!). The afternoon session began with a brief presentation by ‘the Women’s Singstitute’ – the Federation choir. Two songs were performed – the Lass of Richmond Hill and ‘Our Favourite Things’, the latter being a WI version of the classic from the Sound of Music.
An appeal was made for more members to join the choir – fun and friendship
guaranteed.Then,
it was time for our historical guest speaker in the guise of Nell Gwynne. She
was funny, poignant, informative and accurate to the point of using authentic
make up of the time (despite this being potentially dangerous?).We
learnt that Nell was the daughter of Captain Thomas Gwynne. As a child she
would clean out fire grates and sell the cinders in return for food and drink.
Perhaps she was the original ‘Cinderella’….At
around 9 or 10, she was asked to sell oranges for 6d a time at the theatres,
now flourishing in the restoration era after the solemnity enforced by
Cromwell. She, and her sister, progressed to being allowed to sleep on the
theatre costumes to keep the rats off. At the age of 14, she became only the 7th
woman to work on the stage where she became very popular as a comic actress and
singer.After
her meeting with Charles II, she was set up with a £5000 a year pension and a
house in Pall Mall. She had 2 sons, but the younger one died aged 9. She
managed to secure a title for the elder son, also named Charles.When
King Charles died, she lost her pension and returned to the stage.At
the age of 35, she suffered a stroke and died. 3000 people turned out for her
funeral. It is estimated that there are 2000 of her descendants living today.It
was a fascinating talk, brilliantly presented and we can’t wait to see the next
character to come our way.

The
day’s events concluded with presentations of anniversary certificates and other
trophies, bursaries and draws.It
was then announced that the new Federation Chair will be Sue Hawney, who has
been Membership Communications Officer.The
National Anthem closed the meeting.